Next Meeting

This is our annual election of officers and directors for the upcoming club year, followed by a potluck dinner. Please bring your own picnic gear - plates, glasses, flatware, etc., along with a dish to share. Informal feedback for wines in process is available before the meeting starts.

Board members should plan to attend. Other club members are welcome as well - please let the hosts know if you plan to attend. Please check with the hosts ahead of time, and see whether it would be helpful to bring an appetizer, salad or dessert, and plan to bring a bottle or two of wine.

Grapes & Juice - 2015

There are many sources for fresh or frozen wine grapes and juice, although most are only available during the harvest season. This page exists to provide as much current information as possible as to what is available from whom, and when. This information is provided as a service to club members and others who are interested in making wine from fresh grapes and juice. The club does not endorse or recommend any particular source, and has no direct connection with any of the sources listed (although the contacts shown are often club members).

California Fresh Grapes

Duane Van Hoever has taken over the annual fresh grape shipment from Gerry Blume. These are fresh grapes from the Central Valley of California, shipped via refrigerated truck. The grapes must be ordered in advance; they arrive in 36# lugs, usually in late September or early October. Two lugs will make 4 to 5 gallons of wine; three lugs will make a full 6 gallons, with a bit extra for topping up. Orders are usually due by the end of August, or early September. Grapes normally arrive on a Friday, and should be picked up sometime Saturday. A crusher/destemmer is usually available for use on pick-up day, for a small fee. Contact Duane at: dvanhoever@yahoo.com

Washington State Fresh Grapes

Steve Kroll and Rob Fowler have arranged to bring in fresh lugs of grapes from Washington state (from M&M Wine Grape of Hartford, CT) for the past couple of years. For 2015, Steve is also coordinating a grape order from Amador County in California. Contact Steve (steve@kroll.net) for further details.

Brehm Premium Frozen Grapes

Joe Palla is the local distributor for Brehm Vineyards. Brehm offers premium quality frozen crushed red grapes, and frozen white grape juice, in 5-gallon pails. These are from selected vineyards in Napa, Sonoma and premium regions of Oregon and Washington. Contact Joe at 651-257-8385 for current information. Joe normally brings in a shipment of frozen pails in late November or early December. They must be ordered in advance. Note that red grapes are available as crushed grapes; whites come as frozen juice. One pail of juice will make about 5 gallons of white wine. Two pails of red grapes are needed to make 5 or 6 gallons of red wine.

Duane Van Hoever (dvanhoever@yahoo.com) brings in a shipment of refrigerated 6-gallon juice pails from the Central Valley of California, usually a few weeks after the fresh grapes described above. The pails are generally very affordable (around $50 per pail in recent years). Pails must be ordered in advance. Pick-up is normally on a week-end.

Midwest Supplies this year is bringing in refrigerated pails of red and white juice from California, as well as frozen pails of juice from Italy. These must be ordered by August 31, 2015, either by phone or in person at the store; they are not available on the Midwest website. A number of different varieties are available, and the cost for both is $90 per pail. (Note that Purple Foot members are entitled to a 10% discount.) Since Midwest does not have cold storage facilities for these pails, buyers must plan to pick them up the day they arrive, probably in late September. Midwest will alert buyers at least a few days before arrival.